Ecopoetry, Ecopoetics & the Life of a Water Poet

May 28, 2008

The Call of the Caribou

D and I are back, back, back from our trek. She heads out tomorrow to deliver the vehicle to its new owner. I would warn the owner that it needs front end work and that almost all of the keys are missing, but they do get a nice fimo figure, a couple of things made of fleece, a dusty beach towel, and chains for the tires.

The trip was smooth. We stopped in Kingman, AZ (Home of...not much) before heading up into Grand Canyon National Park. That is, we took I-40 out of California (it goes all the way to the NC coast) and then went up 64 to the Park. Caribou were grazing our campsite when we drove in, and this was a fairly large and built up tenting campsite with restrooms and everything. Caribou. And then it snowed as we were putting up the tent. And it snowed throughout the day. The Park was...interesting. Many, many tourists from all over the world. Lots of ill-considered behavior (many deaths attributable to heat stroke/exhaustion, falls, etc.). But we did see condors, bluebirds, ravens, tufted squirrels...The Park does not focus so much at what's close at hand and the site ends up feeling more like a summer camp than a wilderness.

And on, and up!, to Mesa Verde. Not snow for camping, but frosty nights. The experience of this Park was entirely different. The institutional focus is on archeology and research, and visitors had to commit to vigorous activity to get to most (but not all) of the sites. One particularly interesting aspect of the research is reconstructing how the humans interacted with their environment, so guides to wildlife and local plants were more available. The history or archeology was also up for discussion.

Between the parks, we drove through the Navajo Reservation, past the Hopi, and through the Ute Reservation. This route took us through the Painted Desert and Monument Valley. And through absolutely crushing poverty. This is inhospitable land at best. The drive was breathtaking for both beauty and horror.

Take a moment to breathe.

OK. We had planned to go up to Boulder, but after yet another night in the 30s, which we were not prepared for (the weather service got surprised by just how low those lows were), we decided to just pull a long day in the car and head for home. This included coffee at Pagosa Springs and a lunch stop at 10,000 feet. And on through the day, past Denver and back down to Lincoln.

Yes, there are pictures. Yes, I will post some. But first we've got to get our feet back under us.